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Vol. 149, No. 12 — June 17, 2015

Registration

SI/2015-48 June 17, 2015

PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYMENT ACT

Order Amending the Designation of Certain Portions of the Public Service Order

P.C. 2015-763 June 4, 2015

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Public Service Commission, pursuant to subsections 35(4) and (5) of the Public Service Employment Act(see footnote a), makes the annexed Order Amending the Designation of Certain Portions of the Public Service Order.

ORDER AMENDING THE DESIGNATION OF CERTAIN PORTIONS OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE ORDER

AMENDMENTS

1. The long title of the Designation of Certain Portions of the Public Service Order(see footnote 1) is replaced by the following:

ORDER DESIGNATING CERTAIN PORTIONS OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

2. Section 1 of the Order and the heading before it are repealed.

3. Section 2 of the Order is replaced by the following:

2. The portions of the federal public administration listed in the schedule are designated as parts of the public service, and the employees in those portions of the federal public administration who are not otherwise employed in the public service are deemed, for the purposes of subsection 35(2) of the Public Service Employment Act, to be employed in the public service.

4. The schedule to the Order is amended by repealing the following:

Advisory Council on the Status of Women

Canada Ports Corporation

Canadian Arsenals Limited

Canadian Battlefields Memorials Commission

Canadian Council of Resource Ministers

Canadian Dairy Commission

Canadian Wheat Board

Crown Assets Disposal Corporation

House of Commons

Library of Parliament

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

Northern Canada Power Commission

Office of the Correctional Investigator

Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property

Security Intelligence Review Committee

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Senate

St. Lawrence Seaway Authority

Teleglobe Canada

5. The schedule to the Order is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment

Government of Nunavut

COMING INTO FORCE

6. This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

The Order amends the Designation of Certain Portions of the Public Service Order (C.R.C., c. 1336) to

(1) designate, pursuant to subsection 35(4) of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), the Government of Nunavut for the purposes of mobility to the public service; (see footnote 2)

(2) replace the name of the Canadian Council of Resource Ministers that has been renamed the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment; and

(3) revoke, pursuant to subsection 35(5) of the PSEA, the designation of the following organizations:

— Advisory Council on the Status of Women

— Canada Ports Corporation

— Canadian Arsenals Limited

— Canadian Battlefields Memorials Commission

— Canadian Dairy Commission

— Canadian Wheat Board

— Crown Assets Disposal Corporation

— House of Commons

— Library of Parliament

— Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

— Northern Canada Power Commission

— Office of the Correctional Investigator

— Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property

— Security Intelligence Review Committee

— Senate

— Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

— St. Lawrence Seaway Authority

— Teleglobe Canada

Objective

To provide persons employed in the Government of Nunavut the ability to participate in advertised appointment processes open to persons employed in the public service as it is the case for persons employed in the Government of Northwest Territories and the Government of Yukon, and update the list of organizations designated by the Designation of Certain Portions of the Public Service Order.

Background

Pursuant to subsection 35(2) of the PSEA, persons employed in any designated portion of the federal public administration may participate in an advertised internal appointment process for which the area of selection entitles all persons employed in the public service to be considered, as long as the person meets the other area of selection criteria. These persons may also make a complaint to the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board.

Subsection 35(4) of the PSEA provides that the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Commission, designate any portion of the federal public administration for the purposes of subsection 35(2) of the PSEA.

Pursuant to subsection 35(5) of the PSEA, the Governor in Council may also, on the recommendation of the Commission, revoke any designation made under subsection 35(4).

The current Designation of Certain Portions of the Public Service Order designates 32 portions of the federal public administration. This Order that came into force in 1961 was last amended in 2001, with the designation of the Canadian Tourism Commission.

Over the years, 10 designated organizations have either been dissolved or changed status and are no longer portions of the federal public administration.

In addition, since 2001, various amendments to the PSEA have included mobility provisions for employees of certain portions of the federal public administration that are not part of the public service.

Thus, the PSEA now includes a mobility provision for persons employed in separate agencies for which the Public Service Commission (PSC) does not have exclusive authority to make appointments, allowing them to participate in an advertised appointment process open to all employees of the public service. The current Order designates four separate agencies named in Schedule V to the Financial Administration Act (FAA), including one that is subject to the PSEA. The designation of these four separate agencies is therefore redundant and no longer serves any purpose.

The PSEA also provides the same mobility right to persons employed in the Senate, the House of Commons and the Library of Parliament. These three parliamentary organizations are currently designated in the Order. The designation of the Senate, the House of Commons and the Library of Parliament is therefore redundant and no longer serves its purpose.

Finally, the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) is named in Schedule IV of the FAA but is not subject to the PSEA. Since the CDC is part of the “public service,” as defined in the PSEA, persons employed in this organization may participate in advertised internal appointment processes for which the area of selection entitles all persons employed in the public service to be considered. Therefore, the designation of CDC is redundant.

In June 2013, the Government of the Nunavut Territory formally requested that the Government of Nunavut be designated, as is the case for the governments of the Northwest Territories and the Yukon.

Implications

The designation of organizations increases the mobility of persons employed in these organizations to that part of the public service to which the Commission has the exclusive authority to make appointments.

Designating the Government of Nunavut would contribute to increased mobility for these employees to the federal public service across Canada. It would also widen the pool of candidates for advertised internal appointment processes when staffing positions in Nunavut.

Revoking the designation of organizations that are still part of the federal public administration does not have any impact on the rights of persons employed in these organizations. These persons will continue to benefit from the mobility provided by the PSEA.

Consultation

The chief executive officers of organizations that are part of the federal public administration, whose designation is proposed to be revoked, have been advised of this initiative. They have been assured that their employees will continue to benefit from mobility rights pursuant to the other relevant provisions of the PSEA.